COMS BC1016: Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science

Fall 2025
Barnard College

Course Details

Instructor: Prof. Eysa Lee

TAs:

Computing Fellows:

Lectures: Mon/Wed 11:40 AM - 12:55 PM, Diana Center 504

Labs:

Office Hours:

Course Links

Jupyter Hub: https://bccoms-1016-lee-20253.hub.cuit.columbia.edu/ (login required)

Class Discussion Forum: EdStem (login required)

Courseworks: Lecture (1016) and Lab (1017) (login required)

Syllabus: Link

Resources

Python Resources:
Data8 Python Reference: https://www.data8.org/fa24/reference/
DataScience Python Library Developer Documentation: https://www.data8.org/datascience/

Data8 Textbook: https://inferentialthinking.com/chapters/intro.html

Lecture Schedule

The schedule below will be updated as the course progresses.

Week Date Topic Lab Assignment
1 9/3 1 - Introduction
Slides
2 9/8 2 - Cause and Effect
Slides
9/10 3 - Intro to Python: Part 1
Slides

lec03-type-exercise.ipynb
Lab 1 - Expressions (Due 9/12)
Courseworks
3 9/15 4 - Intro to Python: Arrays and Tables
Slides

lec04-tables-complete.ipynb, skyscrapers.csv, degrees-that-pay-back.csv
HW1 - Arrays and Tables (Due 9/24)
Courseworks
9/17 5 - Tables and Charts
Slides

lec05-student-activity.ipynb, chess_games.csv, netflix.csv, actors.csv, world-population-growth.csv
Lab 2 - Table Operations (Due 9/19)
Courseworks
4 9/22 6 - Charts and Histograms
Slides

lec06-demo.ipynb, movie_ticket_price.csv
HW2 - Table Manipulation and Visualization (Due 10/1)
Courseworks
9/24 7 - Histograms
Slides

lec07-demo.ipynb, lec07-complete.ipynb
Lab 3 - Data Types and Arrays (Due 9/26)
Courseworks
HW1 Due
5 9/29 8 - Functions, Groups, Pivots, and Joins
Slides

lec08-demo.ipynb
HW3 - Functions, Tables, and Groups (Due 10/8)
Courseworks
10/1 9 - Conditionals and Iteration
Slides

lec9-demo.ipynb, lec9-complete.ipynb
Lab 4 - Functions and Visualizations (Due 10/3)
Courseworks
HW2 Due
6 10/6 10 - Simulation and Probability
Slides

lec10-demo.ipynb, lec10-complete-ish.ipynb
HW4 - Probability, Simulation, Estimation (Due 10/17, extended from 10/15)
Courseworks
10/8 11 - Sampling, Distributions and Models
Slides

lec11-demo.ipynb, lec11-complete-ish.ipynb
Lab 5 - Simulations (Due 10/10)
Courseworks
HW3 Due
7 10/13 Programming/Python Review
Slides

midterm-review.ipynb midterm-review-complete.ipynb
10/15 Midterm Review No Lab HW4 Due FRIDAY (extended from Wednesday)
8 10/20 Midterm Exam
10/22 Special Topics - Bias in AI No Lab
9 10/27 12 - Hypothesis Testing
Slides

lec12-starter.ipynb
HW5 - Testing Hypotheses (Due Nov 5)
Courseworks
10/29 13 - Statistical Significance
Slides

lec13-starter.ipynb
Lab 6 - Examining the Therapeutic Touch (Due 10/31)
Courseworks
10 11/3 No Class (Academic Holiday) HW6 - Confidence Intervals (Due 11/17, extended from 11/12)
Courseworks
11/5 14 - A/B Testing
Slides

lec14-starter.ipynb
Lab 7 (Due 11/7)
Courseworks
HW5 Due

Project Group Sign-up by Friday, Nov 7 (Individual or Group)
11 11/10 15 - Confidence Intervals
Slides

lec15-starter.ipynb
HW 7 - Sample Sizes and Confidence Intervals (Due 11/24)
Courseworks
11/12 16 - Normal Distribution
Slides

lec16-starter.ipynb
Lab 8 (Due 11/14)
Courseworks
12 11/17 17 - Central Limit Theorem
Slides

lec17-starter.ipynb
HW 8 - Linear Regression (Due 12/1)

HW6 Due (extended from 11/12)
11/19 18 - Correlation and Linear Regression
Slides

lec18-starter.ipynb
Lab 9 (Due 11/21)
Courseworks
Final Project Proposal Due (Extended from Friday, Nov 14) (Template)
13 11/24 19 - Least Squares & Residuals
Slides

lec19-starter.ipynb
HW 9 Released (Due 12/8)

HW 7 Due
11/26 No Class (Holiday) No Lab
14 12/1 20 - Regression Inference and Classification
Slides

HW 8 Due
12/3 Computing Fellows Workshop - Data Ethics Lab - Final Project Consultations Final Project Progress Report Due Friday, Dec 5 (previously Dec 1)
15 12/8 Special Topics - Data Privacy HW 9 Due

Final Project Report Due Friday